Garden of Eden || Apocalypse Paradise #2 [Complete]

142: The Messy Timeline

At this time, Bluebeard was only about eight. His small, average-looking face was clean, and he didn't have a single strand of blue whiskers on his face. But, on closer inspection, she realized that the root of his hair was a little blue. After Lin Sanjiu canceled the option, Bluebeard staggered and fell to the ground. "This shouldn't count, right?" Lin Sanjiu mumbled softly and only let out a sigh of relief when the words disappeared from the grainy surface of the brick.

Gloomy-looking Bluebeard got up from the ground without making a sound. He rolled his eyes and slid into another small alley without saying anything. Lin Sanjiu followed him immediately, without thinking. As she followed him, she scanned her surroundings. Once she started following Bluebeard, the previous buildings around faded into the background and disappeared into thin air, like a soaked watercolor painting. After a cool breeze blew past them, she saw a small village shrouded in mist.

In contrast to the town, the village appeared run-down and impoverished. She didn't see anyone else even after walking for quite some time. However, Bluebeard, who lived there, seemed comfortable with the environment. It was as if he didn't notice their surroundings changing. He walked briskly, stirring up quite a lot of dust.

'If I kill him here, Lila won't die in the future.' This tempting thought suddenly flashed in her mind and echoed in her ears. If she thought carefully, Bluebeard's story was special and different. He was the only one who could exist in a state of past and future at a single point in time. There was also some sort of connection between his story and Cinderella's... If she killed him, it might change something. However, she couldn't link his story to Red Riding Hood's. In the end, Lin Sanjiu decided against that.

Lin Sanjiu followed behind Bluebeard for some time and estimated that more than ten minutes had already passed. She couldn't help feeling anxious. Bluebeard's father was an alcoholic, and his mother was abusive. Neither of them showed a single shred of concern for their ugly son. After watching for a while, Lin Sanjiu realized that Bluebeard had a pitiful childhood, considering the environment he was raised in. However, Lin Sanjiu still had no clue what she should do even after some time.

Unfortunately, time waits for no one. The sun, which hung on the horizon like boiled yellow egg yolk, disappeared past the hills a distance before she even noticed. Lin Sanjiu guessed that at least twenty minutes had passed since she saw the stone tablet. After, Bluebeard muttered something quickly to himself as he sat by the river. His eyes remained very still, and if Lin Sanjiu hadn't seen him breathing, she would have thought he had died.

"So, he was weird even when young..." Lin Sanjiu said to herself. She couldn't wait any longer, but everything around was foreign to her, so she didn't know where to go even if she wanted to leave. While stuck in this dilemma, she heard a bubbling sound from the river. Suddenly, a wet human head surfaced from the water.

"Are you the little chap looking for me?" The person who rose from the water wiped the water droplets off his face and flung back his clumps of gray-white hair to the back. He revealed a long, wrinkly, wart-covered old face.

Lin Sanjiu stared blankly at the Old Man Fairy. She unconsciously made her breathing lighter, afraid to miss out on a single word. By the looks of it, Bluebeard was also surprised that the fairy-summoning incarnation he accidentally stumbled upon worked. He stammered and haphazardly told the fairy his wish. The Old Man Fairy chuckled twice and didn't reply but instead looked behind the boy.

Lin Sanjiu did not know if she was delusional, but she felt that the Old Man Fairy glanced at her.

"If you wish to be incredibly rich, I could make a deal with you, dearie," the old man said with his crafty and hoarse voice. "But it is too early now. You will have to wait for your 25th birthday. I will look for you then."